Am I reading my meter correctly?

amiehall

I moved house recently and have an E7 meter for the first time. I thought I had the hang of the meter.

I am switching at the moment to EDF and my switch date is next week. They sent me an online note letting me know I'd have to read my meter blah blah blah...

Attached to that was a guide to reading your meter. It states that rate 1 is night and rate 2 is day. This was not how I understood my meter to work.

My meter is digital, there are no buttons at all and it cycles round 3 displays: 1, 2, t. t seems just to be a total of 1+2. The number 1 on the display flashes in the day and the 2 flashes at night. So I understood the day rate to be 1 and the night rate to be 2. I won't complain if they're the other way round as it would reduce my bill but I want to be sure I'm reading it right before I give EDF the readings and cause a deep deep mess.

Do ALL E7 meters use 1=night, 2=day?

macman

Yes. the one that is flashing is the active one. That register should also advance in the day as power is consumed.

[Deleted User]

they can vary, the majority are rate 1 =day,rate 2=night, but could be other way round, as macman says, go by either- the rate which is displayed in the daytime, or if its a scrolling meter , the one with a blinking curser (if you look at the meter in the day ).some show the words "rate now " or the reading flashes.. There are some around with no indicators,just see which rate advances in the daytime hours 8.30 to midnight in this case
Your meter is 1 =day, 2=night

Terrylw1

In terms of how your supplier needs to bill you, it must be the way the meter is set.

When you switch the supplier gets informed which way round the registers go. However, going back into nationalised periods, billing systems were developed based on the region they operated in. This was because the meters were set the way the systems worked. As suppliers split in privatisation, they continued with these systems until they started upgrading to new ones recently. All the supplier does is switch the readings round to match their billing system.

In terms of meters...you can program registers however you want on the newer digital. There is also no national standard to state "must be rate X set to day, etc" so the suppliers Meter Operators operate differently to others. This means you get all sorts of register numbers with rate 1 & 4 being common on Ampy models.

Also, there is no requirement for the data to be the same, so you might see 1 2 & t but the supplier and agents might see D N & T, 1 2 & 3, D L & T, etc...all that matters is getting them the right way round. The supplier gets the data per the agent instruction on mapping them but they need you to get them the right way round.

utility_csa

Terrylw1 wrote: »

In terms of how your supplier needs to bill you, it must be the way the meter is set.

When you switch the supplier gets informed which way round the registers go. However, going back into nationalised periods, billing systems were developed based on the region they operated in. This was because the meters were set the way the systems worked. As suppliers split in privatisation, they continued with these systems until they started upgrading to new ones recently. All the supplier does is switch the readings round to match their billing system.

In terms of meters...you can program registers however you want on the newer digital. There is also no national standard to state "must be rate X set to day, etc" so the suppliers Meter Operators operate differently to others. This means you get all sorts of register numbers with rate 1 & 4 being common on Ampy models.

Also, there is no requirement for the data to be the same, so you might see 1 2 & t but the supplier and agents might see D N & T, 1 2 & 3, D L & T, etc...all that matters is getting them the right way round. The supplier gets the data per the agent instruction on mapping them but they need you to get them the right way round.

You forgot Low & Normal!

As the posters above have explained those are the best ways.

Another way is the rate with the lowest read is usually night read in 90% of cases unless you use loads at night and nothing in the day.

[Deleted User]

utility_csa wrote: »

You forgot Low & Normal!

As the posters above have explained those are the best ways.

Another way is the rate with the lowest read is usually night read in 90% of cases unless you use loads at night and nothing in the day.

Also, that is, if the day rates not " gone round the clock " like a lot of the older digital 2 raters

amiehall

You're all making me more doubtful lol... The "night" reading is 5000 units higher than "day". I've been outside at changeover time to find out the actual changeover time and the flashing swaps to the other one. I find it hard to do a test as I hardly use any electricity. I'm using about 60 units a month at the moment so it would be rare to catch the meter moving!!

[Deleted User]

Surely the day reading wiil advance a digit sometime or other between 9.0 am and 11 pm, if its an older meter the day could have passed 100,000 units and started again from zero. here in yorkshire the changeover times are approx 1.30 am - 8.30 in B.S.T.Beware old mechanical timeswitch dials as they are most likely to be at the incorrect time (check what time the indicator at the bottom is pointing to) which skews the cheap rate into a better time, They are much more common in my area than the Radio Teleswitch timer controllers
You dont seem to use much electric ?

amiehall

I'm not at home very much at the moment so it isn't typical long-term usage. But no, I wouldn't use a lot really. I wouldn't always even use a unit in the day as it's often only the fridge using it.

I try to only use the immersion heater when I know I'll want the hot water and the hot tank lasts me 2 days so I don't need it on every night.

I'm not complaining about some low bills for a month or two... Tbh I have better things to spend my money on

Terrylw1

utility_csa wrote: »

You forgot Low & Normal!

As the posters above have explained those are the best ways.

Another way is the rate with the lowest read is usually night read in 90% of cases unless you use loads at night and nothing in the day.

Yeah, and LBSL's TO register!

At least its not a SToD or we could have 50 or so.

[Deleted User]

Amiehall, if you got night storage heaters installed they are usually higher reads on the night than the day. I have found that eco 7 meters which have night storage removed end up then with approx at least 6 times more day useage than night